Project overview
Skin is the largest body organ, and a major site for allergic disease, such as atopic dermatitis. We and other have demonstrated, that skin contact with allergens can induce and worsen allergic responses. In contrast, recent studies demonstrate, that skin can be successfully used as a gateway for therapeutic interventions, aimed at improving the body's immune defences. Such interventions on the skin would create an attractive strategy in allergy treatment and prevention, but we need to understan d better how the immune responses are regulated in human skin. Recent findings point to the critical role of a subset of immune cells in the outermost layer of the skin, called Langerhans' cells (LCs), in the orchestration of immune responses. It is proposed, to investigate the molecular mechanism of immune regulation by human LCs isolated from allergic and healthy individuals. Identified candidate molecular regulators will then be switched off using small molecular inhibitors, to investigat e their suitability as therapeutic targets. By focusing on a key control element in human skin this comprehensive approach will lead to identification of novel therapeutic strategies for induction of long-lasting tolerance in allergy.
Research outputs
Sofia Sirvent Bernal, Andres Vallejo Pulido, James Davies, Kalum Clayton, Zhiguo Wu, Jeongmin Woo, Jeremy Riddell, Virendra K. Chaudhri, Patrick Stumpf, Liliya Angelova Nazlamova, Gabrielle Wheway, Matthew Rose-Zerilli, Jonathan West, Mario Pujato, Xiaoting Chen, Christopher H. Woelk, Ben MacArthur, Michael Ardern-Jones, Peter S. Friedmann, Matthew T. Weirauch, Harinder Singh & Marta E. Polak,
2020, Nature Communications, 11(1)
Type: article
Andres Vallejo Pulido, James Davies, Amit Grover, Ching-Hsuan Tsai, Robert Jepras, Marta Polak & Jonathan West,
2019
DOI: 10.1101/800631
Type: workingPaper
2018, Nature Protocols, 13(4), 705–722
Type: article
Kalum Clayton, Andres F. Vallejo, James Davies, Sofia Sirvent Bernal & Marta E. Polak,
2017, Frontiers in Immunology, 8
Type: article
Kalum Clayton, Marta Polak, Christopher H. Woelk & Paul Elkington,
2017, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 196(5)
Type: letterEditorial
Marta Polak, Chuin Ying Ung, Joanna Masapust, Tom C. Freeman & Michael Ardern-Jones,
2017, Scientific Reports, 7, 1-13
Type: article